After the death of a schoolgirl caught by a car in the German state of Hesse, a murder investigation is now underway. There is a suspicion that the driver deliberately steered the car into the group of school children, the public prosecutor and police announced on Monday. The suspect was taken to a psychiatric facility. The man is said to be in a group of schoolchildren on a sidewalk with a car in Witzenhausen on Friday.
An eight-year-old girl died of serious injuries in the hospital a few hours later. Two girls, ages seven and eight, were seriously injured. The investigation is now being carried out on suspicion of attempted and completed treacherous murder, dangerous bodily harm and dangerous interference in road traffic.
The investigators had initially assumed an accident, initially they had no evidence of intent. In the course of further investigations, a previously unknown witness came forward. Its information let the event appear “in a completely different light,” it said. This, as well as the preliminary opinion of an expert, led to the new assessment of the case, explained a spokesman for the Kassel public prosecutor.
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